-25
AURORA’S POV
I moaned as the cold water cascading down my body; draining me of all the weariness. It washed away the grime, dirt, and sand.
Unfortunately, it couldn’t wash away my memories. The past two months were ingrained so deeply that I wouldn’t forget even if I got Alzheimer's.
I waved my hands in the air and let a small breeze swirl the drops of water around like a tiny whirlwind. It mirrored my mind which was swirling with millions of thoughts and emotions.
I needed a break… I wanted to escape to a lonely place but I was scared of getting caught up in a bigger mess. The water fell on the floor with a splash as I lost my concentration.
While I was dressing up, I heard footsteps outside my room. Thanks to my witchy hearing, I overheard about some mass killing.
“ I am going to ignore the fact that about a hundred people are going to be massacred. I didn’t hear it… I don’t know anything about it…” I muttered and climbed into my bed. I so didn’t want to get involved in their business.
Ten minutes later, I was hidden behind the door spying, so typical of me. I watched in horror as watched men, women, and even some children were huddled in a corner. They were surrounded by Tyson’s men who had guns pointed at them.
“Have you gathered everyone, Aslan?” Tyson asked as he sauntered in.
“Yes, my liege. We used mind evasive techniques to ensure that we got them all,”
“Fine! Kill every one of them.”
I was taken aback when I heard his cold command. For God’s sake, there were children too. How could I sit back and watch this heinous crime being committed?
I stepped into the room and shouted, “When you saved me, I thought I had seen good in you… I thought that you could care for someone but I was so wrong… You are just a monster… I don’t know what crimes the Dark Queen committed but it couldn’t have been worse than this!”
His expression turned ghastly. Grabbing me by the throat, he gritted out, “How dare you compare me to her, Aurora! How dare you! If I was anything like her, you wouldn’t have been standing here alive.”
My eyes stung with tears but I refused to let them flow. Drawing in a deep breath, I croaked out, “I think I would have preferred dying than seeing so many people being massacred for apparently no reason.”
Hurt flashed in his eyes, his expression softened slightly and he released me. Turning to Aslan, he commanded, “Take her away.”
I was so done with being ordered around. I used my magic to pin Aslan to the wall. “I don’t think so, Tyson. I won’t leave unless you explain.”
“You want to kill Aslan… Go ahead… I am not answerable to you… Let us see how many you can save with your magic.” Tyson said grabbing a young boy and lifting him by his throat.
What was I doing with these blood-thirsty monsters? If only I had an option… wait… I did have an option. I wasn’t the weak human anymore…
Aslan gasped as I pinned, Tyson to the wall as well. The boy slipped from his grip and he slid to the floor.
“Aurora! Leave me right now!” Tyson commanded but I was in no mood to let him go.
I felt a strange sensation around my legs. It was as if tiny, invisible creepers were crawling up. I shifted my legs uncomfortably but I didn’t move. I didn’t want to release Tyson and Aslan yet.
The sensation intensified and I started feeling suffocated. I fell on the ground writhing but the sensation vanished soon.
“Thanks, Sister…” Aslan’s voice sounded, making me realize that Zarina was the one who had used magic to stop me.
“This little girl has grown very bold. Lock her up in the room and make sure to add a shield so that she can’t use magic.”
I was taken aback by Tyson’s cold voice. No, I was NOT going to let them keep me against my will anymore. Closing my eyes, I focused all my energy to teleport.
ASLAN’S POV
I was stunned to see Aurora vanish right in front of my eyes.
“How the hell did she do that!? Even Zarina can’t perform magic against your will inside this palace. It is shielded by the world’s most powerful magic which works according to YOUR will!”
Tyson cleared his throat and muttered, “ I fed her my blood.”
I felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me. “You what?”
“Aurora had become very weak. I did the only thing I could to save my life.”
“Hell! Tyson. Do you understand the implication of this statement? Do you think Aurora will accept this with a smile?” Zarina ranted, pacing up and down.
Tyson let out a deep sigh and said, “What is done is done? We will think about that later. First, we will have to find her…”
“Damn Tyson! I am going to kill you next time you give a silly order or lose your temper in front of Aurora. Hadn’t we just found her? Now, we have to search for her AGAIN!” I grumbled and left the room.
I told Caleb to look for her and ordered all our comrades to keep an eye open too.
“What are you so worried about? Let Aurora get lost and die… what do we care?” Zarina said closing the door.
“How can we do that Zizi?”
“Why not? I often start wondering if you indeed are on my side.” Zarina said crossing her arms and glaring at me.
I forced myself to smile and said, “Don’t sweat the small, sister… We should wait till the ‘Heart of Magic’ is retrieved. Then you can bring Witches back to their former glory.”
“You are brilliant, Brother! I never thought of that. Why not use her to get the stone before killing her?” Zarina chirped.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
My heart skipped a beat when I heard someone knock. The authority in the knock indicated that it was Tyson. I was looking around for a place to hide when Zarina opened the door abruptly.
My face turned pale. Was she crazy? Seeing us locked in a room, his paranoia was sure to set in with full force.
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Zarina pulled him in and shut the door again. She placed her index finger on her lips, indicating us to stay quiet and got to work.
She spread a map of our city on the table and put some soil from the flowerpot on it. Slitting her palm, she let a few drops of blood trickle onto the soil.
She stared at the small heap of soil in concentration as she chanted some spell. A mild gust of wind blew over the sand and it formed a line. Soon, it had formed a circle around a dot.
Her face lit up with a brilliant smile and she said, “Aurora is at the ‘Typhoon bar.’
“How do you know that?”
“I performed a locator spell. I can bet that she is at the bar. Though what she is doing near a bar full of dragon-shifters… God knows!”
“That stupid girl! She must have forgotten to think about the location she wanted to teleport and reached a random location.” Tyson said wringing his hands. He paused for a few minutes before saying, “It won’t be appropriate for me to go… that place is frequented by dragon shifters and I need to uphold my position as the king. Aslan… you go and bring her back safely…”
I nodded my head and trotted outside. Jumping into our shiny, new car; I hit the gas. Weaving my way through the winding streets and roads I reached the bar as soon as possible.
I was stunned to see the bar empty at prime time. Upon enquiring, I found out that there had been a problem. All the dragon shifters had gathered in the backyard to sort it out.
"God, please let it not be related to Aurora..." I muttered as I trotted towards the backyard.
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